Of Lost Paths and the Ring of Power
by Aki0Storyteller0
Summary: Once people from different worlds visited each other; time passed & those paths disappeared into legend and myth, all but forgotten by the different worlds. A seemingly normal girl stumbled upon a path between worlds. Finding herself in a world, both familiar and alien... "...this affects me just as much as you..." [might become discontinued]
1. Prologue

(Disclaimer for story: I only own my OCs!)

There are many worlds, worlds that most people don't even know about; there are places that they will never get to see. There are those who dream of going to other worlds, of seeing things that others will never see.

Once people from different worlds visited each other; yet, as time passed, those paths became less used until they disappeared into legend and myth, all but forgotten by the different worlds.

But as chance would have it, a seemingly normal girl came upon such. That is where the story begins…


	2. Chapter 1

edited: 1/17/15-1/19/15

I had just gotten off the airplane in Wellington, New Zealand. I looked around for the baggage claim for a brief moment before spotting it and making my way to it through the crowds of people going this way and that. It was your typical airport, I could see people hugging and crying and laughing and smiling. Some were waving to each other, some getting off of planes, others there to say 'hello', some getting on to planes, and others there to say 'farewell'.

It always felt odd to watch this type of thing year after year. See, every year during the summer and winter, the only time I can get away from school, I come home. I used to live in New Zealand for a much longer period of time, but that was years ago.

"Sora!" I grunted as a body collided with me as I turned around with the bags I'd just grabbed at baggage claim. "OHMYGOD!SORA,IT'SSOGOODTOSEEYOU!IMISSEDYOUSOMUCH!" the person who tackle-hugged me yelled in my ear, speaking so fast that her words were one very long word, or so it seemed. My ears were ringing and for good reason.

My name is Sora, Sora Kings.

I'm an average girl (or so I'd like to think), not pretty, not ugly, not special in any way really (that's what I'd really like to think about myself, but I'm different and just try to act like I'm not any different than anyone else); I'm just me, plain and simple (that much is true, I at least try to be me while trying to not stand out...). I'm roughly five foot five. I've got lightly tanned skin and shoulder length blond hair. My eyes are a light purple color that makes most people ask if I'm wearing contacts, but I swear I'm not (it's my natural eye color, weird but totally 100% natural). My nose is straight and smallish. My lips are a light pink, similar to that of the petals of a pink rose. I have a slender figure that I usually hide with a big, baggie green t-shirt, baggie black pants, and thigh-high brown boots (as for my figure... well, I work out a lot. I loved learning how to use a sword and mixed martial arts; plus I have to make sure I remember it all, don't I? As they say, practice makes perfect... and it makes staying in shape fun.). But my figure isn't the only thing that I'm hiding, I've got some tattoos that I'd prefer for others not to know about. My tattoos cover my left arm (from wrist to shoulder), my right leg (from ankle to about mid-thigh), and one that curves around my right wrist; they are vine-like in appearance and to some look like ivy.

Okay, so I said 'I'm not special', but JJ and TK (my two best friends) would say otherwise; if ever asked (and I did get this answer when I asked) they would say that I'm like an Elf with my blond hair, my light colored eyes (even if they are an unusual color), my sharp eye sight, and my sensitive hearing (to name a few of their reasons). But I've always retorted with 'that doesn't make me an Elf, do these look like pointed ears to you? No? See, I'm not an Elf.'

Anyway, my first thought when she yelled into my ear was _Damn, JJ_. I mean, she's always so loud and she knows better than anyone how sensitive my ears are. Which is ,again, just one of the reasons she always calls me an Elf, but I just don't see myself as even possibly being one. I mean, couldn't I be a Fairy? They're cute AND they can fly! I always wanted to fly; I mean, who doesn't want to? And really, I have a hard time believing that I could be as _good_ as an Elf at anything; what makes them so great? Yeah, sure they'll live forever unless they are killed in battle or die of a broken heart (at least that's what I've heard/read) and I'm not really sure why anyone would want to live forever, it would suck to watch your non-Elf friends die. Whenever I ask TK about it, he agrees with JJ! And he says that I'm 'too elegant and lovely to be a little person'.

"JJ, my ears…" I muttered as I tried to rub the appendages, "They hurt…"

"OH MY GOSH! I'M SO SORRY!" JJ screamed as she let me go and I winced. Goodness gracious, can't she ever tone down the volume? I mean, we're in an airport for goodness sake. And, we were getting a lot of looks.

"It's fine." I said as I was finally allowed to really rub my ears. "Come on, let's go. Before something else happens."

Three hours later, I was standing in the living room of my house (which I only get to see twice a year). JJ and TK were, as usual, demanding that we do some cosplaying on our camping trip (every summer, we spend one night camping in the mountains behind my house; it's a tradition). I was avidly denying the idea, but then something happened that I never saw coming; JJ came up with an argument that had me agreeing.

So, a little about JJ and TK. JJ is a lot like an Amazon woman; she's strong, smart, beautiful, and has a strong belief that any man who can defeat her in combat (really, if a guy can fight her with his fists, a sword, or some other weapon - and that doesn't include words - and win) should marry her because… well, she can't kill him without going to jail, but she doesn't hold to the belief about killing girls that beat her because, again, she can't kill them without going to jail. She looks like an Amazon too, same kind of hair, same kind of skin, eye color, same build, etc. She _is_ careful about what she wears though, making sure that it's not revealing. Usually JJ is dressed up in form fitting shirts and pants with either sandals or tennis shoes. TK is strong, average in looks, and wicked smart (like computer genius smart). He looks Asian and acts like he's from China or Japan, but he was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand (trust me, I know).

JJ squealed in response to my agreement as TK cheered and both disappeared to change. JJ headed to the bathroom and TK went to one of the guest rooms. I sighed and shook my head. Why they were always begging me to do this (with no success until this time) never really made sense to me. I mean, yeah, I'm a _Lord of the Rings_ fan too, but I don't want to be an Elf or a Hobbit like JJ or TK. Did I mention that before? Well, it's true… JJ is crazy about Elves and TK wants to be a Hobbit; and they're both about the right height for each. JJ and TK reappeared quickly and I bit back a groan as I saw their costumes; JJ, Elven maiden of Rivendell, and TK, Hobbit of the Shire. I opened my mouth to protest and found myself being pushed into my room with two bags and orders to change.

After changing, I stood before the full length mirror and blushed as I looked over the warrior attire I'd been given. The top was mostly black, it had a turtle neck and the shoulders were uncovered with sleeves that were transparent; the top had a triangle of fabric cut out to reveal some cleavage, the shirt was hemmed just so that most of my toned stomach was visible and my back had almost no covering, and there was fine light blue embroidering along the hems. Then, there were the black leggings with a black skirt with light blue hems over top. And then, there were the pieces of jewelry, the light blue crescent moon necklace and the matching dangle earrings; the black and light blue gloves, and the black boots with the lovely light blue leg guards that made the entire outfit match. All that was missing was a weapon (and my locket, a simple silver circle with a light blue crescent design over top). I turned to my bed and looked at the second bag sitting there. It was rather long and as heavy as a real sword; I frowned as I tried to see through the semi-transparent material to no avail. Opening the bag, I found three items: a purple wig (that I tossed onto my pillows with an eye roll), a black cloak that would cover my form completely, and a large sword (that would have to be slung across my back if I wanted to keep it from dragging on the ground; think something along the lines of the buster sword that Zack uses in the Final Fantasy VII series for how big my sword is) and a scabbard with a strap that could be slung across my body so that the sword and scabbard were against my back.

Sighing, I left my room to see the smiling and smug faces of my best friends. Three packs sat on the floor at their feet. "A Hobbit, an Elf, and a woman… what an odd bunch we make." I said as a small grin turned up the corners of my lips, but JJ and TK frowned before JJ entered my bedroom and returned with a pair of fake pointed ears.

"You're supposed to be an Elf. Why didn't you put these on?" JJ asked as she tried to hand them to me and then attempted to put them on for me. I refused to take or wear them and moved to grab the pack closest to me; the bags were skillfully made to look like the ones that the Fellowship would carry with them from Rivendell.

"Because I'm not an Elf, JJ; I'm nothing like an Elf." I told her as I looked through the bag to find that it had been filled with my things; two tank tops (one blue and the other black), a pair of black shorts, a pair of gray pants, two pairs of socks, and under garments for both outfits. My hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, body spray, five books, a notebook, four pens, and a pack of tissues were in the pack. I frowned as I thought. "Why don't we make our trip a bit longer than normal?"

"How much longer?" TK asked.

"A few days, two or three more days than the usual?" I shrugged as I pulled the books from my bag to find out which books from my library had been chosen for me; they were _The Hobbit_ (also known as _There and Back Again_), _The Lord of the Rings _(all three books as one book) both by J.R.R. Tolkien, and the _Harper Hall Trilogy_ (_Dragonsong_, _Dragonsinger_, and _Dragondrum_) by Anne McCaffrey. I smiled as I put the books back into my bag.

"Okay! This is going to be so AWESOME!" JJ screamed before she and TK grabbed their bags and headed to the guest rooms they were using to add more of their things to their packs. I quickly moved to the bags that had made the trip with me and put some more supplies into my pack before heading to the kitchen to finish. JJ and TK joined me soon after and also grabbed food to go in their packs.


	3. Chapter 2

**(A/N: So, um... Long time since I posted anything for this story... I have been thinking about discontinuing this story and another one that I've been working on, but thought I'd see how far I could go with the idea I had originally for this story. I might discontinue it, might not. Really it all comes down to if I can keep finding inspiration for me to keep writing that will determine whether or not it continues. Updates for all of my stories are going slowly at this time. College starts here in almost a months time and I've got so much to do to get ready for it. I've also been dealing with trying to juggle being a beta reader, doing yard work, chores, family, trying to enjoy my summer, trying to get together with friends, and at one point trying to stay focused (which happened before I got asked to beta reading NightOwlCC's YuYu Hakusho story) - I couldn't seem to focus on anything; for example, one moment I was trying to write on a story and could barely write three words before my attention was on something else. So, I'm very sorry. I hope you enjoy the story.)**

It wasn't much later that we started our journey into the mountains. Within four hours, we had reached the cave that we usually camped near. It had started to rain and so we made our way into the cave, being careful to make sure it was a safe place to stay.

"Sora, Sora! Look at this! Look at what I found!" JJ called from farther into the cave. TK and I shared a look before going to see what JJ had discovered. We found ourselves in a round chamber like room in the cave; there were drawings on the walls that told a story. I frowned as I looked at the pictures trying to think of why they seemed so… familiar, so important.

"Whoa… What's _that_ doing _here_?" TK asked, pulling my attention away from some figures with pointed ears – some of the figures were tall, like Elves, and some were short, like Hobbits or children. If this had been an anime, I'm sure that my mouth would have hit the ground in my surprise. TK was right, what was a door doing in the wall of a cave?

I took a step towards my friends and the door they stood next to and froze as I heard a woman's voice say "_The World is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was… is lost. For none now live who remember it._" The woman seemed to pause after each sentence and I could've sworn I had heard the same words uttered in a different language, Elven, before the words were spoken in English or Common.

"Sora?" TK asked when he turned to see me standing in almost the same spot as before. "Are you okay?"

"_It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves: Immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-lords: Great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine… nine rings were gifted to the race of Men… who, above all else, desire power._" The woman's voice continued, and I could've sworn I had heard her voice somewhere before.

"I'm… I'm fine." I said, taking a deep breath.

"_For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived. For another ring was made._" It was like she was telling a story, one that I knew so well but couldn't seem to think of what it was.

"Are you sure, Sora? You look a little pale." JJ questioned as I moved to stand next to her.

"_In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom… the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring… to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice… and his will to dominate all life._" I blinked a few times, _Mordor…? Mount Doom…? Sauron…? Master Ring…? The Lord of the Rings._ I thought as the unseen woman talked.

"I'm sure, JJ. Nothing's wrong with me. How are you two doing?" I asked.

"_One Ring to rule them all._"

"I'm Fine." JJ and TK answered at the same time. I smiled at them in reply.

"_One by one… the Free Lands of Middle-earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted._"

JJ took a step towards the door, a gleam in her eyes that always spoke of mischief.

"_A Last Alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor. And on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-earth._"

"Oh no… What's in your head, JJ?" TK asked.

"_Victory was near. But the power of the Ring… could not be undone. It was in this moment… when all hope had faded… that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. Sauron, the enemy of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, was defeated._"

JJ turned to us with an innocent smile on her face, "I was just wondering what could be on the other side of this door."

"_The Ring passed to Isildur… who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of Men… are easily corrupted. And the Ring of Power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten… were lost._"

TK frowned, "Curiosity of an Elf, ha! Hobbits don't need to wonder about something such as that!" TK turned up his nose with a snobbish air.

"_History became legend… legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years… the Ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came… it ensnared a new bearer. The Ring came to the creature Gollum… who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there it consumed him. The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. For 500 years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited._"

"What are you saying, Master Hobbit? Why ever wouldn't a Hobbit wonder about what could lie behind such a door? Could there not be something of interest to a Hobbit behind it?" JJ asked. I sighed as I quickly realized that they were role playing.

"_Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East… whispers of a nameless fear. And the Ring of Power perceived… its time had now come._"

"Why ever would you think that? What reason would an Elf have for thinking such a nonsense idea like that?" TK asked as he looked at me.

"_It abandoned Gollum. But something happened then the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins of the Shire._"

I shrugged, "I'm sorry, TK, but I've got no idea why an Elf would have such a thought. It's just like my knowledge of why a Hobbit wouldn't be curious about what hides behind the door."

The gleam in JJ's eyes seemed to grow. "Well then, Lady Warrior, why don't we find out what lies behind this mysterious door?" Then without waiting for a reply, she moved to the door and threw it open. We all peered inside, trying to see something in the gloom but saw nothing. After a time, I thought I saw a light, like a camp fire somewhere beyond the door. JJ and TK seemed to see it too. JJ tried to walk through the opening but seemed to run into a wall.

"I can't… go… through!" JJ grunted as she continued to try to walk through the doorway. TK rolled his eyes and muttered something about a drama queen under his breath before JJ demanded he try, so he did only to fail just like JJ.

They both started to fight after that and I got them to stop. They then demanded that I try the door and see for myself. I sighed, knowing full well that they wouldn't stop unless I did try to walk through the doorway. I made my way to the door, stopping just in front of it, and looked back at my best friends – who were looking at me in this way that seemed to say 'go on, try it'. I took a deep breath and took a step forward, fully expecting to hit a wall, but instead walked right through the doorway into the area beyond.

"Sora!" I heard JJ and TK call.

"_For the time will soon come… when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all._" That was the last thing I heard before my world went black and I knew no more.


End file.
